Paramount: Why we dumped Blu-ray

Interview: Why HD-DVD is a Blu-ray killer

The battle between the two competing next-generation DVD formats – Blu-ray and HD DVD – has left consumers confused and manufacturers anxious. But many people believe Sony's decision the back Blu-ray and include the technology in its PlayStation 3 (PS3) console has given the format an edge over its cheaper rival.

However, the movie studios also have a big part to play in helping decide which spec (if any) will become dominant and this week two of the biggest names in the industry made their views clear. In a surprise move, Paramount and DreamWorks Animation announced that they would align themselves exclusively with the HD DVD high-definition format.

The controversial decision has attracted a lot of attention, and not just because it comes at a time when market indicators have been pointing to competitor Blu-ray Disc as having the lead (disc sales have been running 2-1 in Blu-ray's favour).

Rumours have swirled since the news broke, suggesting that Paramount and DreamWorks are being heavily compensated for their exclusivity pact - to the tune of $50m and $100m respectively. A Paramount spokesperson says only: " ... whenever we conduct co-marketing, production deals, or other agreements, we never discuss business terms."

I don't doubt that some level of financial incentive made this a good business decision for the two studios. But according to Alan Bell, executive vice president and chief technology officer for Paramount Pictures, there's more to the change in allegiance than either a mere abandonment of Blu-ray's higher-capacity advantage or pure business dealings.

Here's some background from Bell about the recent news.

Q: Presumably, making this move wasn't something you did lightly. What led up to the decision to shift your production exclusively to HD DVD?

Bell: Paramount has been getting experience with publishing titles in both formats for the last year. We've had a hands-on ability to see how these formats work in practice. And after some hands-on analysis, we decided that HD DVD was the format we wanted to support.

Why was that?

For one thing, the lower prices of the players: It's good for consumers, it's good for our customer base.

For another thing, HD DVD came out of the DVD Forum. The DVD Forum is very experienced at developing and managing specs. [HD DVD] was launched in a very stable way, with stable specifications, and they had specified a reference player model, so all players had to be compatible with the HDi interactivity layer, and all players had to be capable of the interactivity. So when we publish titles in the future that have interactivity, we can be assured that every HD DVD player will be able to handle this content.

So, as a studio, you believe that the underlying stability of HD DVD's specs is a benefit?

When you look at what the DVD Forum has specified as required, it's a good set of advanced technologies. You can be assured that that benefit will be available to all consumers, no matter what [player] model they purchased. That speaks to the DVD Forum, that it published specs that were complete and market-ready, and that it didn't need to publish up [and change the specs], as Blu-ray has. To some degree, [such changes are] going to create some legacy issues.

For example, HD DVD players have [ethernet] connectivity built-in. If the player doesn't have that, or it's optional, you can't rely on that [as a feature].

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Comments

Jay said: You want to save money and get no difference buy a good 1366768 tv and hd-dvd playerNo one can tell the difference plus regular tv looks betterTalk about screwing people for moneyhello 1080p

Jay said: You want to save money and get no difference buy a good 1366768 tv and hd-dvd playerNo one can tell the difference plus regular tv looks betterTalk about screwing people for moneyhello 1080p

Paul said: The studios say they are thinking of the consumer but the only thing I can see them thinking about is their pockets Incentives back handers What is going on That money is money they have made off our backs the paying public Support both formats and see where it goes Microsoft and Tosh are playing catchup despite the DVD-Forum being behind their format Sony despite manufacturing problems and some other bad publicity lately seem to have a product that works well can be integrated with other technologies ie PS3 and as a consumer I like what they have doneAll that will happen with this format war is that movie piracy will increase thus forcing us to pay more for our favourite moviesParamount Dreamworks you suck

Chas2 said: Its Batamax once again - I hope Sony puts its slush fund in to reducing the cost of Blueray machines instead of paying off the big studios to come on side

raggedy said: Hmm Sony and DRM spyware Sony and their new standard memory sticks Sony and their laptop batteries bursting into flames Companies taking bribes sorry incentives to back one formatAs in VHSBetamax VHS was the first sub 100 machine I think the price will be the real decider here

TonyH said: I have no intention of laying out money for either format yet Upgrading 2 PCs and an entertainment centre in a family home only to find youre stuck with the equivalent of a Betamax 12 months later is too expensive to bother with Ill probably skip this technology entirely and wait for the next version

Dave Coleman said: I for one am tired of this format war One of the reasons I purchased a PS3 instead of a stand alone player was even if HD DVD wins I still have a great gaming console and a upscaling DVD player I am very disappointed in the Paramount move and I will not purchase or rent any movies from either company The reality is people are tired of this format war and with the upscaling DVD players that produce near HD quality why bother with either format

William said: Betamax was clearly the superior in recording quality but a big reason VHS won over Betamax was storage capacity Look at the new HD camera recording format AVCHD that is just being introduced by Sony and Panasonic who have the lions share of the consumer camcorder business AVCHD will be able to be used directly on blu-ray equipment WITH NO NEED OF FURTHER TRANSCODINGThis means I can shoot HD tapeless on a SD chip and then simply transfer the video to blu-ray thus freeing up the chip for more recording and then play it on my HDTV with the blu-ray player Try that with HD-DVD

Numanthia said: Wow What a load of crap this guy is spining Almost anyone I have talked to regarding this situation thinks Paramount has made a very bad strategic choice Money over consumers and support for a inferior technology that is already leading the market The deal is indefinite as the future will be clear in 18 months and nobody is going to give paramount 150 mil again Alan Bell should have been honest - they switched only for the money Blu-ray is technically known to have been imaging and storage capabilities than HD- DVD and Blu-ray is far more flexible for serving up content than HD-DVD He is another embarassment for ParamountTo the Editor Your headline is Mikey Mouse Trash Journalism This deal still does nothing to really close the gap on Blu-ray until we start seeing the players at under 200 and not Toshibas dirty trick of 1080i instead of true 1080p we are not close to seeing if HD-DVD can save themselves So Far Blu-ray is the HD-DVD killer factually and statistically

homerj said: having watched this progress over time I have been shocked at how this has been portrayed in the media it is as though Sony have developed Blu ray only for Toshiba to launch a rival system when in fact it is the other way round HD DVD is the choice of the dvd forum and the fact we have a format war is solely down to Sony blu rays greatest claim is its greater capacity but this will be unimportant because capacities of both formats will increase over time to the point where any difference becomes irrelevant

jim said: hell noi support blu rayi will never use the company product that takes bribes

Jon said: They were offered incentives worth 150m to release in HD-DVD only for the next 18 months although the deal doesnt include Steven Spielbergs films It has nothing to do with HD-DVD being the better format

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